Skip to main content

tv   Erin Burnett Out Front  CNN  December 3, 2012 4:00pm-5:00pm PST

4:00 pm
jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> guess who kid rock hung out with this weekend at the annual kennedy center honors? >> i was partying with wolf blitzer last night. >> were you? >> he tweeted a picture of us. we broke him in. >> i get to say i partied with wolf every night, but yes, he did tweet about the quality time. >> very nice guy. liked meeting his mom as well. from michigan. that's it from us. erin burnett "outfront" starts erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com "outfront" tonight, breaking news. new evidence that syrian president assad's regime has started mixing deadly gas. how that changes president obama's stance on a possible intervention. john boehner offered up his own plan to avoid the fiscal cliff today. does it add up? and the u.s. ambassador to the
4:01 pm
united nations comes under fire again. this time, it's over ra wwanda. let's go "outfront." evening, welcome, everybody. i'm soledad o'brien. breaking news. president obama puts the syrian president bashar al assad on notice. the president is reacting to new notice that the regime is mixing with chemicals to make deadly gas. and today, i want to make it absolutely clear to assad and those under his command, the world is watching. the use of chemical weapons is an would be totally unacceptable. and if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable. >> assad is on the edge of
4:02 pm
president obama's so-called red line against syria. the president said the summer that syria's use or movement of chemical weapons could mean u.s. intervention, so "outfront" tonight, barbara starr. how exactly clear is the evidence in fact they are now moving in a new step in the direction with chemical weapons? >> it was just over the weekend that the intelligence began coming in showing that the assad regime was mixing agents, chemicals to make the gas. they're not telling us exactly what the evidence is, but they are saying they have multiple sources of intelligence. this sukts possibly some satellite imagery, phone intercepts, maybe some human sources on the ground. >> so, at this point, what kind of military action might the united states be considering? >> when the president of the united states goes out there and makes as strong a statement as he did today, that's a commitment. you have to follow up.
4:03 pm
you have to do something. thai going to watch very carefully when they see this move, they have to determine rapidly what are assad's intentions. they're not even thsure about tt right now. get other countries in the region involved. don't forget, israel lies right over the border. the israelis might not be so patient and wait to see if the chemical weapons are used. >> it's got to make everybody in that area nervous. how deadly is it? >> 500 times more lethal than cyanide. without an ant dote, can kill you in minutes. paralyze your respiratory system. >> those troubles developments come as hillary clinton made repeated the united states' position that it will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. >> we have made our views very clear. this is a red line for the
4:04 pm
united states. >> so is the united states about to get involved in syria's 20 month old conflict? "outfront" tonight, bob bair, peter brooks was under president george w. bush. bob, i'm going to start with you if i can. so, at what point do you think the administration gets involved? is what we've seen now this sense they're creating weapons, is that enough? >> it's not enough. i think the fact they're mixing it is highly alarming, of course. if they start deploying this, if they start putting it on artillery shells, if it looks like they're really going to fire this stuff, i don't see any choice but we're going to have to go in. the west is completely, what i'd also like to say is that with the minority regime that runs s syria, would they use it, absolutely. if they're back is against the wall and they think they're going to go down, they will use
4:05 pm
any of these binary gases that would stop the revolt. i don't know they're at that point, but if they do, we really have to think about going in. >> so, peter, you've long been critical of how the administration has been handling this. do you think they should already be intervening? >> this red line which i think is a good idea and also could be signalling to the regime, but it says anything before that is okay. you know, we're 20 months into this. almost two years. 40,000 people dead, so as long as they don't use chemical weapons, it's okay. i'm really concerned about what's going on there. if you believe syria's important, i think we should have been more activists. i think there are things that could have been done to try and get at syria. this regime is a real problem for us. its alliance with iran. its possession of chemical weapons. weapons of mass destruction. it's human rights record. it's spoth of terrorism. this is a regime we'd like to
4:06 pm
get out of the way, but we don't want to see it replaced with people we don't support either. >> okay, so the now and the president has said that moving weapons in any kind of threatening way would be that red line if it's not boots on the ground, then what is it? >> unfortunately, there aren't real good military options, but the president has a lot of options short of that. little bit of strategic ambiguity does serve the administration. if you cross this line, something bad does happen to you. doesn't mean it's going to be military intervention. we're not quite sure. now, once again, the clarity is important, but at the same time, that ambiguity that the president laid out may also signal to assad he shouldn't do what he's thinking about doing. the other question i have out there is is the regime thinking about ewing chemical weapons or did we catch a local commander doing this and we want to tell the regime that it's possible that one of your local
4:07 pm
commanders is going to use chemical weapons, so there's a lot of things we still don't know. the reporting's been great, but there's a lot of things we still don't know. >> so, peter, let's say the regime were in fact to fall. there have been many who have said this creates a sort of black hole that could have disastrous consequences of its own. obviously, there have been problems figuring out who the rebels are. they're not a ko ales group. >> if you look at what's going on in libya, the regime found the weapons wegathered up. we saw what happened with benghazi. islamists are pouring into syria. you're right. we could have a real power vacuum. the question is you have to make a decision, where does this fit on your national interest and what sort of resources and risks are you willing to take. >> and in fact is the president backed into a corner? he says here's the red line and we see everybody marching to the
4:08 pm
red line are, puts him in kind of a tough position, doesn't it? >> yeah, look, syria is at the center of the middle east. if this thing is becomes a failed state with gases like saran, if al-qaeda like groups take it over, it will be a source of instability for the next serl decades. something has to be done now. you can't play around with this anymore. >> thank you, gentlemen. nice to have you with us this evening. next, 29 days and counting for the fiscal cliff. john boehner offers up his own plan today. and the white house has already offered up their response. then later, a photo in the trayvon martin case has been released in color. we'll show it to you and a new heir to the british throne is on its way. it's a baby bonanza. that's ahead. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever.
4:09 pm
when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in? with a degree in business from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to go further in your career than you ever thought possible. let's get started at capella.edu plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's heah concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. [ gordon ] for some this line is a convenience. how you doing today? i'm good thanks. how are you? i'm good. [ gordon ] but for others, it's all they can afford. every day nearly nine million older americans don't have enough to eat. anything else? no, not today. join me, aarp, and aarp foundation in the drive to end hunger by visiting drivetoendhunger.org.
4:10 pm
since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪
4:11 pm
together for your future. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. our second story, a decent
4:12 pm
proposal? after laughing off the president's proposal last week to avoid the fiscal cliff, john boehner today put out his own terms for a deal which he says add up to $2.2 trillion in savings. it includes $800 billion in savings from tax reform from closing special interest loopholes and deductions. $600 billion in so-called health savings, which includes changes to medicare. 300 billion other mandatory savings. 300 billion in discretionary savings. this white house shot it down saying this until republicans in congress are willing to get serious about asking the wealthiest to pay higher tax rates, we won't achieve a balance. tonight, tom coburn of oklahoma, a man who's been called one of the keys to reaching a real deal. >> glad to be with you. >> let's begin with this letter that's addressed to the president and comes to majority
4:13 pm
leader boehner. in this letter, he sort of lays out part of his plan. what do you think of his plan as we've laid out so far? >> i think the first thing that i heard you say is the white house is already reacted negativively to it, which is really concerning to me. look, what he offered was what erskine bowles offered as a compromise to the democrats and republicans. i'm certain if this is not good enough for the white house, we will go over the fiscal cliff because this is a compromise on taxes. this is a compromise on mandatory spending and it's a compromise on discretionary spending over what the select committee had debated. >> the details if we can and i should mention that erskine bowles put out a statement saying this -- does not
4:14 pm
represent the bowles-simpson plan, nor is it the bowles plan. in my testimony before the joint select committee on deficit reduction, i simply took the midpoint of the public offers to demonstrate where i thought a deal could be reached at the time. he's very much backing away from speaking boehner's letter, but the question i wanted the to ask you -- >> can we spend one more point on that? >> of course. >> what did he say? that was the midpoint of a compromise from the two. so, here's speaker boehner who is taking a new point on the compromise between the two sides and offered it and it's already flatly rejected? >> i think what he might be rejecting, sir, if i may -- >> no, i'm not talking abo about erskine bowles. >> i think what he's saying in his statement, this letter from speaker boehner does not
4:15 pm
represent his theerly, number one, but i think the line the white house is have been problems with, i believe i found it in page two of the speaker's letter, he says this. notably, the new revenue in the bowles plan would not be a i chiefed through higher taxes, which we continue to oppose and will not agree to in order to protect small businesses and our economy. instead, new revenue would be generated through pro growth tax reform that closes special interest loopholes and deductions while lowering rates. i'm going to guess that is the very line that the white house is going to say no deal to, right? >> so, let me understand. if in fact we want $800 billion in new revenues and we could do that through closing loopholes, limiting -- for the very wealthy in this country and we're going to not have a deal because it's not a rate increase, but rather
4:16 pm
taking a same amount of money from the same people and we're going to say no to that? >> well, there are people who said the math doesn't work out. doesn't actually get you enough money. >> i've been studying this for seven years. that's baloney. it's easy to get $800 billion out of the wealthy in the country by limiting deductions and taking away options that are specifically benefit only the well off in this country. >> okay, but -- >> all you have to do is for example, people making more than $250,000 a year, should we give them a mortgage deduction on their vacation home? should we? they won't consider that because it offended too many constitu t constituen constituents. >> you've said i'm all for the very wealthy paying more taxes, so i'm curious since you've said that, why the reluctance to just raise the tax rate on the
4:17 pm
wealthy. >> because it destroys growth of the very people who are going to create additional revenues in the future. >> then why say you would with all for it? >> i never said i was for raising tax rates on the wealthy. i said i was for increasing the taxes that the wealthy pay. if you take the vast majority of small businessmen who will be hit with an increased tax rate, you're going to decrease the job creation and the capital formation in this country. >> so, let me ask you another question. because one of the things we've talked about really on both sides i think it's fair to say is a lack of details and secretary geithner was out trying to defend some of the details in his plan over the weekend. this letter also has very few details. i'm curious to know exactly what loopholes, what deductions would you kill? i think for a lot of people who worry about the child care credit or the mortgage deduction would like to know specifically
4:18 pm
what's on the line and at what rate. >> i put out a report called subsidies for the rich and famous a year ago -- take from the very wealthy on things they get a significant advantage from. so, it's not -- we can. all this jockeying in public, we need real leadership. there shouldn't be anything offered in public. what it should be is a president and speaker boehner in a room and not out until this is solved. because the long-term, playing gotcha politics and that has nothing to do with the best interest of this country. i'm okay to compromise on some of my issues if it will solve the problem, but what we have is a game being played for political, extreme right wing and the extreme left wing in this country rather than coming together and leading and solving the problem. >> thank you, sir.
4:19 pm
appreciate your time. >> good to see you. >> like wise. next, susan rice comes under fire again. this time, it's over comments she allegedly made during the 1994 rwanda genocide and weeks after losing the biggest race of his life, mitt romney has found a new job. that's ahead. but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!
4:20 pm
bp has paid overthe people of bp twenty-threeitment to the gulf. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.
4:21 pm
and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.
4:22 pm
4:23 pm
our third story tonight, susan rice's role in rwanda. a group of religious leaders have opened a new line of attack on the woman believed to be the leading candidate for secretary of state by questioning her role in the clinton administration during the 1994 rwanda genocide. rick warren tweeted this. susan rice's appalling words when she put election politics ahead of stopping the genocide in rwanda. before that tweet was delete ed -- a 2002 article that claims she said this. if we use the word genocide and are seen as doing nothing, what will be the effect on the november election? elyse, does the criticism against rice add up do you
4:24 pm
think? >> i don't think 100%. susan rice was director for u.n. affairs at the national security counsel at the time of the genocide. the rwanda genocide. now, that office dealt more with the united nations than with africa, even though the united nations was dealing with the issue. at the time, it was a working level staff position. her first in government. ambassador rice could make announcements, but wouldn't be involved in making such an important decision about getting involved militarily in rwanda and president clinton said he made the decision. it was the greatest mistake of his presidency. and susan rice traveled to rwanda shortly after the genocide and said seeing the horrors of rwanda, the ground littered with hundreds of thousands of bodies is what actually made her passionate about the issue of preventing genocide in the future. she realized this was a wrong decision of the administration. she returned when she became
4:25 pm
u.n. ambassador, spoke about that experience and there's also a quote from her in the book reference by rabbi shmuley in which she swore that if she ever faced a crisis like that again, she would argue for dramatic action and then in her words, go down in flames. >> so, why religious leaders, especially these two, speaking out against her? >> for instance, i spoke with rabbi shmuley earlier this morning and he says that this is the guiding principle of religious faith. that any of these people are god's children and so, for the rwanda genocide for instance, that would speak to the very heart of everyone is god's children and that every human is, has indelible value, but at the same time, he was very involved in the rwanda affair. he traveled to rwanda, but at the same time, he's also a
4:26 pm
politician. he just lost a campaign and republicans are piling on to their concerns about rice related to the benghazi issue. note that neither rab by snuly as a citizen nor any of the republicans addressed this during the campaign. confirmed by unanimous consent at the time. >> thanks. appreciate it. "outfront" tonight, speaker of the house, john baiter offers up his own plan to avoid the fiscal cliff, the president responds and a new heir to the british throne is on the way. but an unusual condition is keeping the duchess of cambridge in the hospital. we'll have an update. y in and like something... ♪ [ car alarm deactivates ] ♪ ...or you can get out there with your family and actually like something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year.
4:27 pm
this is the pursuit of perfection. offering some of our best values of the year. one is for a clean, wedomestic eney future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas...
4:28 pm
putting us in control of our energy future, now. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.
4:29 pm
4:30 pm
welcome back to the second half of "outfront." we start the second half of our show with story wes care about where we focus on our own reporting from the front lines. mitt romney has a new job. the former presidential candidate will join the board of directors at marriott international. it's actually his third stint serving on the board. job doesn't pay as much as bain capital, but not shabby.
4:31 pm
directors receive a base pay of $16,000. in 2011, $110,000 in marriott stock and $1,300 for every meeting they attend. we have somewhat new fphoto of george zimmerman, the man charged with the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. this photo was taken after the shooting while he was sitting in a police car. we showed you this several months ago, but back then, it was a black and white copy. the family wants to see the x-rays of his nose. the head of u.s. africa command says al qaeda is al qaeda's best financed affiliate. they're one of the major groups that have taken over northern mali. today, general hamm says they have a lot of money, a lot of weapons. that's why international leaders have been working on a plan for military intervention in the
4:32 pm
region. here's what general hamm had to say about that. >> if there is to be military intervention, it has to be successful. it cannot be done prematurely. if there was an undertaking of a military endeavor today, from a tactical assessment, it would be unsuccessful and set back the conditions even further than they are today. >> he also said that negotiations are the best way too deal with the rebels. flu season is off to an early start. officials say this is the earliest regular flu season they've seen in nearly a decade. they also note they're seeing a higher r r than normal number of flu reports in the south. the director is urging people to get vaccinated. saying this year's flu vaccine is a match with the strain that has been circulate l and it's been 48 p days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. got some good news from
4:33 pm
automakers. november was the best month for u.s. auto sales since january 2008. our fourth story, showdown. john boehner today gave president obama a taste of his own medicine, putting out his proposal. i spoke with tom coburn this hour and he said the deal boehner's put on the table is the best compromise out there. listen. >> i'm certain that if this is not good enough for the white house, we will go over the fiscal cliff. >> if you read though, the boehner proposal carefully, no tax rate increases, which we know is a nonstarter for the president. so where does that leave us? john avlon is here to help us read through the lines of the deal, also crunch some of those numbers. first, we're talking about the $800 billion figure. that's in the lert john boehner wrote to the president. >> right. there is no numbers breaking that down. it's a where's the beef question. bumper sticker, we have the
4:34 pm
numbers but no details. boehner's aides will say that's where the negotiations come in. the devil's in the details. they'll say look, to achieve these revenue increases by closing deductions and loopholes. in the letter boehner sent, he says they may be able to lower some rates based on comments made by erskine bowles. >> i think for folks especially the middle class, they're trying to figure out the math. those deductions and loopholes, do they actually dig into the middle class. >> right and what the romney campaign tried to do with a similar proposal and in fact, the democratic group third way said if they got a $35,000 cap and excluded charitable deductions, they might be able to reach that target. that is however not lowering rates. keeping them where they are today. so some folks have crunched these numbers, but it's tough to reach that and as you said, this
4:35 pm
is not dealing with the white house saying we want to raise those rates. >> they say nonstarter. look at the other parts of this proposal. $600 billion in health saving, which would include changes to medicare. not specifically laid out. 300 billion and other mandatory savings. what exactly are we talking about? >> look, we can raise things like the medicare eligibility age, which the white house has backed from 65 to 67. perhaps means testing in some of those mandatory cuts. maybe form sub sidies, but this is where the give and take will occur. boehner and obama have met before. the summer of 2011. they put a lot of specifics on paper. when boehner couldn't get backing. >> how close is this to that is this. >> it is a broad outline, but there is a lot of negotiation. even members of the congress didn't see this in advance.
4:36 pm
this was really an opening bid. it is best seen as really a response to pressure. but people saying where's our plan. you've got to put a plan out there to begin the negotiation. >> thank you. deal or no deal. we're on the edge of our seats. 29 days in counting until our taxes go up and across the board spending cuts. we're getting lots of mixed messages as to what's going to happen and where things stand. >> i'm increasingly pessimistic. >> so tonight, two men who have lots of experience dealing with lawmakers. paul begala, david frum, former adviser to president george w. bush. david, let's start with you. >> i feel about this whole process as a basketball nonfan,
4:37 pm
i feel about basketball, which is start it 100-100 and play for five minutes to get it overwith. but i think we also need to take a step back and realize just how lunatic this whole process is. what the united states does not need right now is either spending cuts or tax increases. what we should be thinking about is how to get growth. instead of the mishandling of the deal in 2011, we have to pretent that we have what is the most urgent thing right now is to balance the budget. to do it immediately and to come up with a ten-year plan and in less than a month using the income tax system, which is the last place we should be looking for revenues. we should be looking from different kinds of taxes. taxes on consumption and carbon emissions.
4:38 pm
the whole thing is crazy and what we really as to be demanding is is let us out of this mess. do not cooperate with the fiscal cliff idea. rebel and say just extend everything and come back later when the economy is at full -- >> how do you rebel against the fiscal cliff idea? paul, if you listen to boehner and his plan, he sort of says it's erskine bowles plan. is it possible to rebel against an idea marching along? >> i get excited when i hear david say things so far outside the bok. it's not a box. it's a beltway here. there is a long-term crisis and i think david would agree with that. if you actually go back and read what my old boss and his partner wrote almost two years ago now, they said these things, these cuts in tax increases should be back loaded so we don't damage
4:39 pm
the economy. in the president's proposal, he does have a small infrastructure bank program to try to jump-start some growth, so i think it's a good idea. raising tax rates on the rich. i saw your interview with senator coburn. he has really put in the time here and i admired his work on this. but even a guy like senator coburn who was on the commission and supported its report can't state the obvious. we need to go back to the clinton era rates for the most well off americans. it's not going to kill us. freedom of tyranny is not the 35 we pay now and the 39 that the rich will pay as we did when america was a communist paradise. it's just silly now. you've got to be for a tax rate increase or we will go over this fiscal cliff. >> no, you don't. you could raise from a carbon tax of $20 a ton, which will deal with, we are having the biggest record carbon levels.
4:40 pm
you could raise -- at 4% a year over the next ten year, twice as much as you could from allowing the bush tax rates to lapse. why the income tax system is overburdened in the united states. we use it too much. we should be looking at other taxes. we can't do it in 29 days. why are we doing it in 29 days? >> but the president ran on raises taxes, right? if you look at the polls. 60% of people support raising taxes on people who make over $250,000 a year. how much of a problem is it, david, if the republicans you know, tom coburn said he does not want to raise that tax number. >> the president ran on his first term on opposing a health care mandate. presidents change their minds. the idea that you would do a revenue measure with an eye to basically doing something punitive, when there are much more important policy goals you can achieve and when it's not going to be good for the economy and when this is a terrible time
4:41 pm
to do it. i think cooler heads should prevail. >> so then paul, what does a compromise look like. so try to be down the middle on this if you can. what does it really look like when both sides are giving? let's take david's proposal about the carbon tax off the table for the moment and let's take a look at taxes and spending. what is an agreement that both sides can say yes, we each gave a little? >> the republicans must agree to higher tax rates on well off americans. all the way to the 39.6 that the president, they have to. that's the ticket for admission because the president won the election and campaigned on that. the democrats are going to have to agree. they'll use uf -- and that means health care for seniors and poor people and special needs kids. that is not an easy thing to ask anybody to do, let alone the democratic party. which really created these programs. this is going to be awful and
4:42 pm
gruesome, but 70 for 60 in your poll, 60% of americans want to raise taxes on well off americans. 70% don't want to cut or 80, don't want to cut medicare or medicaid, so the hard stuff is coming. this is the easy stuff. >> we're out of time, guys. nice to talk to you. i appreciate it. next, violent clashes along the turkey, syria border and a new heir to the british throne is on the way. our piers morgan will explain the fuss. that's coming up next. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.
4:43 pm
♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. this season, discover aleve. of washington about the future of medicare and social security. anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the... table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let's keep medicare... and social security strong for generations to come. a new way to save on your prescriptions. it's the aarp medicarerx saver plus plan
4:44 pm
from unitedhealthcare. with this plan, you can get copays as low as a dollar through a preferred network pharmacy like walgreens -- where you'll find 8,000 convenient locations. best of all, this plan has the lowest part d premium in the united states -- only $15 a month. open enrollment ends december 7th. so call today or visit your local walgreens. ends december 7th. trying to find a better job can likbe frustrating.gs, so at university of phoenix we're working with a growing list of almost two thousand corporate partners - companies like microsoft, american red cross and adobe - to create options for you. not only that, we're using what we learn from these partners to shape our curriculum, so that when you find the job you want you'll be a perfect fit. let's get to work. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight,
4:45 pm
c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raisyour rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.
4:46 pm
as russia's president made a rare appearance in turkey today, clashes continue along the border of those two countries. ivan watson is is in istanbul and i asked him how close the latest syrian air strikes were to the turkish border. >> the air strikes hit within site of the turkish border, sending panicked civilians fleeing to the nearby turkish border, also sending warplanes in the air in response to these
4:47 pm
close air strikes. all of this happening just hours before one of the biggest traditional supporters. vladimir putin sat down for talks with the turkish prime minister who's been one of the biggest enemies. both leaders trying to down play their difference, play up their huge trade, but they disagree on turkey's request to deploy batteries along the border and this is supposed to be disgust at nato headquarters starting on tuesday. let's check in now with john king with a look at what's ahead on ac 360. >> the united nations now reacting to the story you're also been covering. syria may be preparing to unleash chemical weapons on its own people. sounds unthinkable, but the united states has obtained a
4:48 pm
report that they have obtained ingredients to start mixing the gas. also ahead, a cnn exclusive. bizarre tale of john mcafee wanted for questioning in belize for the death of his neighbor. martin savidge tracked him down, which is almost as interesting as the interview itself. also, i'm sure it will be the first of nine months of stories, the royal pregnancy. the royal pregnancy of kate middleton. all ahead at the top of the hour. >> nine months and counting. our fifth story, those rumors of the royal baby. now true. the palace confirmed that today. after 19 months of marriage, the duchess of cambridge and prince william are expecting their first child. she was admitted to the hospital this afternoon. she had acute morning sickness. he was seen leaving the hospital later in the day. max foster who is outside that hospital for us.
4:49 pm
max? >> reporter: yeah, so a good sign that prince william left the hospital. meant he wasn't overly concerned, but having said that, she's still not 12 weeks pregnant. they were forced into an early announcement because kate was coming to the hospital here and it would have leakleaked. the queen and even prince charles weren't even told until today, so they haven't had time to be terribly concerned, but it's one of the best hospitals in britain and we'll wait and see. she's getting various treatments. they're giving annuie inine inid being told to rest. eat enough food, making her strong enough to get through this early stage of the pregnancy. it is very early on in the process. >> so then what do you think the implications are economically speaking?
4:50 pm
one has to imagine a little baby royal is going to bring even more interest all on the royal family. >> well, i'm always amazed about the story that is the british royals because it's a truly global story and it's a great picture of kate that it will make magazines pretty much in every country in the world a truly global story, is going to huge boon for the media industry. you'll see a lot of merchandising. you saw over the royal wedding, all this huge amounts of merchandising. i know you were over here for that. and it's really for britain a branding story. the royal wedding was one of the biggest media events in history. it did huge favors for the tourism industry. buckingham palace remains the most popular tourist destination in london and this plays into that story. kate and william are the most popular royals ever and this is the next part in their story. they've had the wedding and then the baby. some concerns, will she get through it, all plays into a
4:51 pm
narrative here. it's a big uk branding story. >> only luke could spin it as a uk branding story. birth of a baby. max foster outside the hospital for us tonight. there have been tweets about the next heir to the throne coming in from all around the world. some of them from piers morgan himself. earlier he wrote this. hearing rumors that william and kate are considering piers as a name for their child, humbling. he joins us from los angeles. what great news, named after you. amazing. you must be so proud. >> i'm as surprised as you are, soledad. having been the one that started the rumor, i'm not exactly holding my breath. >> one could imagine. why do you think everyone around the globe is so interested in the story of the royals? it never really ends. i think a lot of people are rooting for this couple. they really like this healthy, normal, if you can be, marriage. >> look, they're the biggest stars in the world and they really are. i think the wedding cemented wills and kate now as the two
4:52 pm
biggest figures of any type in the whole of the planet earth. they replaced really princess diana in that respect. with that comes enormous media scrutiny. i think the american public love them because you don't have a royal family here. you have a president who can only last eight years and then they get replaced. in britain, the one constant in my life, in my 47 years, like so many others in britain, has been the royal family. prime ministers come and go and politicians and footballers and cricketers and whatever you want, but the family that is always there as the bedrock of our society is the royal family. and i think william and kate have given this whole new energy and dynamism along with the younger royals, harry, fergie's girls and so on. it's just exciting. i think max hit the nail on the head. they are an enormous brand, really, in their own right. they bring in billions of pounds every year to the british economy and on the global stage, they just stand for something that's very british. they're very well educated,
4:53 pm
well-spoken, they're charming, they are great public servants who do great work, which they call public duty for charity and so on, and they stand for kind of quintessential old-fashioned british values. >> so what does it mean for this baby in the royal hierarchy? does this mean prince harry will never, ever ever be king and this baby could be king or queen one day? >> well, it doesn't. actually it's quite complicated at the moment, because the rule has always been in the history of the royal family that the firstborn son, the first boy, would be the heir to the throne. so if an heir had a son, that would be the future king. but now it's been changed. parliamentarans in britain are pushing for a law that would make it legal for the firstborn of wills and kate here is a girl, for her to automatically become queen. the complication is, that law hasn't gone through yet. it has to go through before she is born if she's a girl. now, i'm guessing that william
4:54 pm
and kate probably know the sex of the baby so they probably -- >> you think this early on? not even 12 weeks, they may not know it. also, there are many people who say this kind of morning sickness, severe morning sickness, is correlated with twins. what happens in the royal hierarchy if it's twins? >> that's where it gets really, really good fun, because obviously you could then have a girl and a boy nestling inside the womb and the first one out becomes king or queen. imagine that race. i've been involved in sibling rivalries, soledad, but imagine that. imagine if you were five seconds ahead of your brother or sister, you got to be the monarch of the british royal family. >> i have a set of twins, neither one of them's up to be the monarch of anything and they fight for stuff constantly. so i can't even imagine. would you imagine diana's got to be a name, everyone is going to assume that would be one. you already mentioned piers. any other suggestions of names that probably would be up there? i'm sure people will be talking about that for the next nine months. >> look, the way that you should think if you're placing a bet is
4:55 pm
what is the likelihood of a close family relative for whatever particular reason, diana, her full name is diana frances. one of those two names i'm sure will figure if she's a girl in the four or five names she's likely to be allocated. if it's a boy, i would look to history, you know. britain's not had a king george or king james for quite awhile. we've had quite a few in the past. similarly with henry. what it probably won't be is edward or andrew or charles, because that would be william's dad and uncles. he may feel it's a bit too close to home. my money would go on a kind of george, possibly, or henry or james. >> or they could go a whole other direction and go latina. go with soledad. you know. >> i think that is the least likely thing to happen in the history of the royal family. >> less likely than piers? really? want to put some money on that? piers morgan, thank you. >> listen, wait a minute. i won't let you have the final word on that. piers is a very old-fashioned english name, old english for
4:56 pm
pizza. there has never been a king piers. >> no one's going to name their kid pizza. >> more than likely to be king piers than queen soledad, i can tell you. >> we'll put money on that. we'll see. piers, thanks. if you think running a restaurant is hard, try running four. fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. [ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-popcorn decoy bucket. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures only chex mix is a bag of interesting. you won't take our future.
4:57 pm
aids affects us all. even babies. chevron is working to stop mother-to-child transmission. our employees and their families are part of the fight. and we're winning. at chevron nigeria, we haven't had a reported case in 12 years. aids is strong. aids is strong. but we are stronger. and aids... ♪ aids is going to lose. aids is going to lose. ♪
4:58 pm
4:59 pm